BookRackTag Archive | Short Stories | BookRack

Love, Peace and Happiness: What more can you want? by Rituraj Verma

Debdatta Dasgupta Sahay — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 05:36:01 +0000

This book is a collection of short stories that deal with the trials and tribulations faced by people of this century. It deals with the lifestyle and ideals that the modern Indians choose to live by. The focus is mostly on the relationships that are thriving or breaking up around us as a result of these choices. Nine short stories dealing with different relationships with few characters interconnecting each other.

First things first and for me characters always take the center stage as it is their life and their story that is played out through the stories. Each story had a strong character that dominated the story. They need not be the physical strength or the most vocal person in the story – yet they left their mark. For instance, Sneha & Shweta seemed to be dominated by their partners in the story – yet at the end it was them who made their presence felt through their ‘absence’. There were a few characters who managed to appear in each other’s stories. However, overall I felt that it was women in the stories who through their strength, gave the stories their shape and for that I must congratulate the author. It couldn’t have been easy for Mr.Rituraj Verma to have written a woman’s perspective on a relationship in the most natural way. He has certainly hit a bull’s eye in most cases where, I as a woman felt that I would have probably thought and reacted in the same way as the characters.

Now, let me get the ‘not so good part’ out of the way. I received an ARC copy which had a few mistakes in form of missing words. It is nothing major. If you are one of those readers who read a sentence as a whole at a glance instead of reading it word by word, then you will probably miss them. The other thing that annoyed me more was the typical Indian fixation of IIT/IIM education and Sex. Apparently, the only way to give ‘weightage’ to a character in an Indian story is to give them an IIT/IIM certificate. And, what can I say about the fixation on sex. I have actually reduced reading modern & young Indian literature exactly because of this reason. Every other book talks about female body statistics, their bra sizes, illicit relationship, extra marital affairs… Really, is that all we care about? If this is today’s reality then I think I’d rather remain a spinster locked up in my room with a bunch of dogs (could say the old cat crazy lady – only I am not that old or that cat crazy!) than go out and interact with any such maniac!

Well, my rant is over. So, if you ignore the sex and the sexual innuendos, the stories also offer different angles on the many pursuits of human species – Love (yes, the emotion), Happiness and Peace. At the end of the day, we all look for these three in our lives. How we perceive it and approach is as different as the individuality in each and every one of us. They stories also cover the many aspects of our society – such as the caste system, the religious barriers, corruption, social pressure and general indifference of people. They still exist in this twenty-first century and the author has handled the topics as a matter of fact, which resulted in shifting some focus on such issues. Yes, once you look into stories, they have such depth in it that if you catch on to it, you will surely spare sometime to wonder.

Now, what struck me the most is the idea of alternate endings. As is the case with short stories, readers are often left wondering – what happens next or what would have happened if… But in this case, if you do not like the ending of a story, you can visit the author’s website for alternate endings. And if you are still not satisfied – well, write your ending and submit it on the said website. This serves the book with two purpose. First, I think the idea of alternate endings are perfect for readers like me who like to ‘wonder’ about a story way after it is over. Secondly, I also think that this is a brilliant marketing plan as well.

By,

DDS @ b00k r3vi3ws

Aerogrammes and Other Stories by Tania James

Vivek Tejuja — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 21:17:40 +0000

Title: Aerogrammes and Other Stories
Author: Tania James
Publisher: Vintage Books
ISBN: 978-8-184-00301-7
Genre: Short Stories
Pages: 180
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

Whenever I am about to read a new collection of stories from someone who is just about trying to step foot in this genre, I get very apprehensive. I love the short-story genre. It is something else. If I could, I would have written a piece in praise of the short story. I just would have so much to say.

With this, I must talk about the short-story collection I have just finished reading. It is called, “Aerogrammes and Other Stories” by Tania James and it is one of the best reads for me this month.

It has all the elements of fiction – drama, intrigue, adventure, mystery (well to some extent), dry humour, love, and a ghost story as well – all rolled into one collection. Every story is more unique than the other and that is what makes this collection superb. James knows how to catch the pulse of the reader and she does it in an amazing way right from the first story to the last one.

The collection kick starts with; “Lion and Panther in London” is about a wrestling championship, which unfolds in a very interesting manner. “Girl Marries Ghost”, one of my favourite short stories in the book is about a girl who meets a ghost, who wants to marry her, so he can return to the physical world. The title story is a sad story about a father who has been dumped in a home for the aged and he waits for his son to visit him every week.

The other six stories center on identity, loss, redemption, and love all rolled into one as the reader explores the worlds James’ characters inhabit. The stories sparkle with originality and sensitivity. Every word is in place and nothing seems out of context. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories spanning London, India and the US. The perspective is new. The voice definitely is. I would also recommend her debut novel, “Atlas of Unknowns, written with the same enthusiasm. Aerogrammes and Other Stories should definitely be next on your To Be Read list.

The Lost Story by Amit Goyal and Sudhanshu Gupta

Vivek Tejuja — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:55:34 +0000

Title: The Lost Story
Authors: Amit Goyal and Sudhanshu Gupta
Publisher: Grapevine India Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
ISBN: 978-9381841020
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 224
Source: Author via Bookrack.in
Rating: 3.5/5

When I was first told by Bookrack to review, “The Lost Story”, I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to. I mean, I hadn’t heard of the book at all and honestly I could not say much of it based on a synopsis. I needed to read a chapter at least to figure whether or not I wanted to review it. However, I agreed to review the book and from the time the book reached me, I could not put it down. So there went my theory of wanting to read a chapter at least. The book gripped me and took me in.

“The Lost Story” is a joint venture by Amit Goyal and Sudhanshu Gupta. It is a story of a Booker Prize Winning writer Saleem Afzal, who hasn’t written a book in the last 23 years. It is about Sandy, an aspiring young writer who gets a chance to work with him on a collection of short stories. The idea and entire premise of the book is that each of them has to write one half of a story, leaving it for the other to finish it. Together, they make their imaginations run wild, churning story after story – a tale of a haunted house, the apocalypse and its aftermath, a journey back home gone crazy, and of a young terrorist and his mentor.

As these stories are being churned, there is another story which remains unfinished – Saleem’s Lost Story. The last book he was working on. Sandy’s mind begins to question unrelentlessly, seeking answers: What is the Lost Story? What happened to Saleem while he was writing it? What is the secret behind his accident? Why won’t anyone tell Sandy anything about it?

This is the premise of the book. I liked the book. In fact, I liked it a lot. The writing was fast. The stories were crisp. The intermingling chapters of stories and the conversations and scenes of Saleem’s and Sandy’s lives were done tactfully. The authors must have pondered over the fact that how this should have worked out – and therefore the way they have written the book seems so familiar to the events that unfurl in the book (just referring to the writing style of two authors’ collaborating). Amit and Sudhanshu have kept the book simple – in terms of its language which does not require a lot from the reader and yet they do not serve all stories on a platter. The reader is often left wondering about the various possibilities at the end of each story.

At the same time, the ending was a big disappointment for me. I could not handle it. I did not like it. I wish there was more to it than the way it ended and that was the only drawback for me in the entire book. Nonetheless I enjoyed the book. It is everything that you need in a page-turner and I liked the structure and framework of the book. You cannot read it again for sure. But it is a quick flight read for sure.

The New Collected Short Stories by Jeffrey Archer

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:16:00 +0000

Book Title: TheNew Collected Short Stories

Author:Jeffrey Archer
Publisher: PanBooks, Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
Rating: * ** */5

Ifyou are an avid reader, you know you go through some phases in life when youjust do not have the time or patience to sit through an entire novel or anyelaborate piece of writing. When I was right in the eye of such a period, aprotracted flight journey prompted an emergency visit to the airport bookstore. And, I ended up getting treated to a collection of short stories soindulgingly penned that I had to force myself to read slowly lest the bookshould end far too soon.

Aset of 42 diverse stories garnered under three lists- To Cut a Long StoryShort, Cat O’ Nine Tales, And Thereby Hangs a Tale, makes up this persuasive read.The yarn is spun across myriad subject matter- confidence trickery, burglaries,tax evasion, love, murder, auctions, inheritance, to say the least.

Manyof them, as Archer admits, are accounts based on real life; picked up fromvarious sources during travel around the globe, time served in prison and as localinmates. With his narration, Archer sure has added more than seasoning to truthbeing stranger than fiction. We would never know if the people’s lives were/arereally as colourful as the palatte he has used, but they do provoke an envy of thedrama nonetheless. The ones that have leaked out of his imaginative ink fallnot too far behind in succeeding to impress you. As you read on, you stopchecking the index for that small asterisk suffixing those titles that arebased on true incidents.

Goingfaithfully by the gist on the back cover, I set sail with Don’t Drink The Water and started my month long romance there. Halfway through the murder thriller, I was not sure who I was rooting for- thescheming husband or the proverbial gold digger wife. In The Red King, you follow an aristocratic family’s obsessive journeyin finding the missing pieces of an antique chess set, each member having hisown unique reason for attempting to complete the collection.

Awife takes a sneak peek at a delightfully written raunchy mail by her lover, atthe breakfast table, in front of her husband who is hidden behind the morningpaper, in The Letter. After an oldwarehouse accommodating a shoe company is burned to the ground, in High Heels, it leads an insuranceactuary to smell a rat worth about four million pounds.

The story-tellingis adroit, witty and engages classic British humour in a potent avenue. Archerseldom resorts to blatant establishment of characters and rather chooses themto be abundantly drawn out through the course of his narrative. The plots are inventivelyconstructed with his trademark twists in all their delectableness.

Thereader would find himself not just wanting to know what would happen next, butalso attempting at putting pieces of the puzzle together at the same pace asthe author’s. Now that, in my opinion, is when a writer as an artist has in allactuality caught the attention of his audience.

…‘Buthow…?’ began Frank.

‘It’s a long story,’ Cornelius replied, ‘andI’ll tell you the details over a brandy after I’ve won the game.’…

Urban Shots- Bright Lights (Edited by Paritosh Uttam)

admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:45:00 +0000

Title: Urban Shots- Bright Lights
Editor: Paritosh Uttam
Publisher: Grey Oak- Westland
Published: 2012
Price INR 195
Pages: 204
Genre: Contemporary Indian Fiction/Short Stories
Rating: 3.5 on 5

This is the third compendium of short stories I have read under the Urban Shots series, and it is the third time I have experienced overwhelming satisfaction with what I read. I have spent considerable amount of time with these three books in the past month, and not a moment spent with them has gone waste. I am not a reader who sprints through books. I am one who like to take her time, understand, absorb and feel- and each story I have read under the Urban Shots collection as a whole had a distinct emotion to fill me with.

Talking of Bright Lights in particular, the very first thing you need to know about this book has been very well put forth in the prologue (by Naman Saraiya). Each story, handpicked by Editor Paritosh Uttam, also one of the authors in this collection, has a flavor which needs to be savored. So the first thing, which you must know and follow with this book is that you have to give time to each story for reaching your heart and mind once you are done reading it. Trust me, it happens on its own. The moment you finish one story, it might touch you so deeply, that you would want to close the book for a while and just reflect. If stories, most of which are written by nascent authors, can evoke such a response in its readers, you can be sure that what you are reading is nothing short of a precious collection of words. Are you one of those who cherishes building a library with the best contemporary fiction collection? Urban Shots- Bright Lights is what you simply cannot do without.

This book contains 29 stories by 21 writers, most of whom are debutantes. Occasionally, you will come across familiar names, like Ahmed Faiyaz, Sneh Thakur and Paritosh Uttam himself, but most of the writers are fresh, and so are their writings. The stories in this book cut across cultures, across feelings, faces, incidents, musings, recollections, realizations and much else. Few stories attempt to touch, few attempt to teach; but almost all attempt to give you a personalized glimpse into the life of a common, yet unique Indian inhabiting one little corner of the crazy cultural panorama that the Indian landscape is. The stories in Bright Lights cast illumination on incidents serious and sensitive, and also narrate tales with undertones of pleasant humor. Generally, I hold a proclivity for intense and emotional stories, but this time, I was bowled over by a light and humorous story by the name of Father Of My Son by Roshan Radhakrishnan- a finely narrated tale of the innocence of childhood, the role and relationships of parents, the balance which needs to be found while performing multiple roles and justifying multiple relations in a family and eventually, the love which defines, binds and sustains a home. I have read and reread this story and it still makes me smile.

I will give this title 3.5 stars on 5, also admitting, that I found it a touch better than the previous books – Croossroads and Love Collection- both outstanding by themselves. The quality of stories is magnificent, and so impeccable is their selection that this book stands out as a compelling read. My absolute favorite from the book I have already mentioned above. Besides that, my quintet from the remaining 28 stories is-

1. Amul by Arvind Chandrashekhar
Innocent reflections of a 10 year old afflicted with a terminal illness. Touching, to say the least.
2. The Raincoat by Rashmi Sahi
An ode to each mother, who sacrifices everything for the sake of a little smile on her dear child’s face. Sensitively narrated.
3.You Eternal Beauty by Naman Saraiya
A struggling author in love with a city- a city which is his muse. Beautifully written, perhaps one of the best stories in the anthology in terms of beauty of expression.
4.Good Morning Nikhil by Ahmed Faiyaz
A slightly spooky way of conveying how the presence and blessings of our elders never desert us. Simple, only till you reach the end.
5. The Wall by Saurbh Katiyal
Dwells on a lethargic psyche, a man who has stopped seeing purpose in chores and activities surrounding him. It is a phenomenon all too common, but happening at a psychological scale, it misses the notice of most. Original thought. Flawless execution.

As a final thought, the cover of this book is bright and beautiful, an apt premonition of the content waiting inside to be explored.

Reviewed by
Saumya Kulshreshtha
@Nascent Emissions

Crossroads (Urban Shots)

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:17:00 +0000

Title: Urban Shots- Crossroads
Editor: Ahmed Faiyaz
Publisher: Grey Oak- Westland
Published: 2012
Price INR 195
Pages: 217
Genre: Contemporary Indian Fiction/Short Stories
Rating: 3.5 on 5

Now this is quality stuff. Genuinely. I do not know how many times did I find myself touched and connected and affected by the short stories compiled in this yet another brilliant anthology under the Urban Shots series. I do know, however, that this is one book I will strongly recommend to all book lovers out there, for the 30 stories told by 26 odd authors in this book are fresh, and textured interestingly. And as I stated earlier, this book is a quality affair. A pleasant, yet intense journey.

A glimpse through the foreword written by Rohini Kejriwal reveals to you what this book potentially would be about. As professed in the prologue, this book turns out to be a collection of tales on some very interesting and diverse characters, and mostly pivoted around a centrally important or watershed incident in their life. The simply yet elegantly told stories go beyond just that one incident and often make you stop and think. Each story here is a world of its own. Each character revels in a distinctness of his own.

What is truly commendable here is the selection of stories, due credit for which goes to the Editor Ahmed Faiyaz. This is perhaps the fifth book associated with him which I am reading, and I can now safely proclaim- he is one author who simply does not know how to disappoint his readers. Through this compendium, interestingly titled “Crossroads“, Ahmed strings together some intense stories, each uniquely drawing you into the lull of its narrative. These are stories which find their roots in the urbane locales of India; each inspired by a different facet, human or physical, of the carelessly burgeoning and increasingly complicated urban existence of new age Indians. Some characters here pace too far ahead, much too quickly; yet others tell their tales about coming to terms with the world whizzing past them. There are stories here of complicated love, compromised relationships, pulverized identities, pressurized psyches, crushed innocence, thankless altruism, and unrewarded commitments. So many thoughts and emotions have been depicted in these 30 urban stories with such finesse that a constant eagerness to move onto and investigate the contents of the next story keeps you gripped throughout. An added beauty to all these tales is the fact that most, if not all of them are not easily predictable stories even though they build on situations one hears of or faces in real life.

Having been thoroughly satisfied by this outstanding collection, I was reflecting happily on a lot of them to pick my quintet. I have to admit, that selecting only five from a potential 30, each one of which stood as a strong contender to be included in my favorite five, was a task ridden with fond anxiety. After much thought, here are the five stories I found best..

1. Mindgames by Manisha Dhingra
A tale about psychological setbacks, one which turns ripe only at the very end. This was my absolute favorite from the lot.
2. Gautam Gargoyle by Shailaditya Chakraborty
Brilliantly written, beautiful wordplay and extremely intriguing plot. A complex take on what you might be tempted to dismiss as a rather mundane phenomenon. Understandably, this one was the Editor’s pick.
3. Songs Of The Summer Bird by Anita Satyajit
I loved this story for its simplicity and poignant portrayal of a misunderstood but well meaning library watchman. Simple sometimes is richly beautiful.
4. Jump, Didi by Sharath Komarraju
Dark, complex, intense. This story reveals itself to you in layers;. each new layer a whole new dimension. This story is about the innocent baby sitter next door and her forbidden sercrets.
5. Footsteps In The Dark by Mini Menon
A girl, penury, needs and exploitation. A sensitively told story of an aspect of our corporate society we need to feel ashamed off.

Also, Crossroads by Ahmed Faiyaz, the story which lends its title to the book is easily one of the best you will come across. Depicting love, lust, desires and commitments in a seamless manner, this story essentially themes around the concept of infidelity in urban relationships.

As a last thought, this book is one of those which makes me believe that contemporary Indian fiction has come of age. That said, there still are a lot more avenues to explore and experiment with. Crossroads is one book which has something to connect with everyone of you. 3.5 stars on 5 is what I will award it with.

And yes, the cover is totally gorgeous too. Quite prophetic of the gorgeous content waiting to be unveiled.

Reviewed by
Saumya Kulshreshtha
Nascent Emissions

The Love Collection (Urban Shots)

admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 21:31:00 +0000

Title: The Love Collection- Urban Shots
Editor: Sneh Thakur
Publisher: Grey Oak- Westland
Published: 2011
Pages: 216
Price: INR 199
Genre: Short stories/Contemporary Indian Fiction

Love is sacred, yet to many lost and caught in this web of society, it remains forbidden. Love is universal, yet to most who devote all their senses to its pursuit, it remains elusive. Love is ethereal, yet it is defeated more often than not by considerations real and pragmatic. Love is love, yet in this one word lies a myriad of emotions ranging from happiness to anger to jealousy to possessiveness to sorrow to calmness. Love, as we see and feel it around ourselves today is simple and complex at the same time. The variegated hues of this simple-and-complex phenomenon and its diverse manifestations- some lovely, others ugly- is what is explored in another brilliant anthology published as a continuation of the Urban Shots series. This offering of short stories is aptly named- The Love Collection.

The above paragraph surmises with flair the moods, thoughts and emotions I underwent while reading the stories picked up by editor Sneh Thakur to be published in this compendium. Compiling 31 stories by as much as 27 different authors must have been a daunting task for Thakur (who quite adorably refers to herself as ‘pint size Rapunzel‘- a description I cannot quite get over), given that ‘love’ is an emotion all of us like to talk/write about. It serves perhaps as the first motivation for nascent writers to put pen to paper. Not guided by a uniformity of writing style, guided solely by a common emotion running through the 30 odd stories- the book could have faltered on many aspects- the most important being monotony or stereotyping. Love is not always dreamy. It is not always like a bollywood movie. And much as we would like to argue, in real life, it is not always depressive and unyielding. This book does well to explore the many shades, including the greys, of love and compile them in neatly. Each story stands out on its own. I could not compare or hold any two similar in the essence they portrayed. For this, the editor and the various authors deserve a proud pat on the their back.

Having stated in clear terms that I loved this book, two or three stories left me sorely disappointed. May be because they did not appeal to the dreamy lover in me, may be because I hate to associate depressiveness (almost clinical) with love. Very rarely does it happen that I leave a whole book unfinished; much too rare is the case with short stories. In this book, while there were stories which I devoted time to rereading, there were some I did not feel like finishing. That said, I would still strongly recommend this book to readers of contemporary Indian fiction. The stories contained in this book are stories about characters whom we meet in real life, characters we identify with, characters we hope we would meet someday and characters we thought existed only in stories. Exploring diverse backgrounds, wading through different emotional topographies, these stories are perfect to discover and understand and even amuse oneself with varying facets of love. While in some stories this emotion dominates, in others its subtle; in yet others it chooses to lurk around the periphery.

Importantly, reading for quite sometime titles under the Urban Shots series, I have come to realize that short stories are the perfect, breezy metro reads that can fit into demanding schedules of the day. You can leave anywhere, pick up anywhere, and still not feel lost. If the book lover inside you feels suppressed unwantonly because of compulsions of material world, The Love Collection might be a good place to start at. 3 stars on 5 it is for me. My quintet from this collection-

1. Making Out by Hina Siddiqui
The Editor’s pick, and appropriately so. The title explains much, and hides much for what this story might be about.
2.Strangers by Ahmed Faiyaz
Begins normally, ends eerily. One of Ahmed’s best short stories I have read.
3. Twisted by Lipi Mehta
You thought it was simple, but actually it was not. Exploring a different side of love.
4. The Jhalmuri Seller by Bhabhani Shankar Kar
The simplicity touched me. Simple, but beautiful and a little more than just a tale of nascent love.
5. Reality Bytes by Anitha Murthy
Will touch you, I guarantee. This was one of those I reread.

and I would also mention one which does not leave my mind, for it was one of the only which pandered beautifully to the romantic within me- A Girl Can Dream by Ayesha Khanna.

Once again, a very satisfying read.

(Reviewed on request from Grey Oak-Westland)

Reviewed by
Saumya Kulshreshtha
Nascent Emissions

The Habit of Love by Namita Gokhale

Vivek Tejuja — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:57:00 +0000

>Title: The Habit of Love
Author: Namita Gokhale
Publisher: Penguin India
ISBN: 978-0-143-41772-9
Genre: Short Stories
Pages: 184
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

The Habit of Love by Namita Gokhale is a collection of thirteen stories that reflect and internalize the lives of women. Of course one cannot generalize anything basis these stories, however yes they provide the necessary framework needed to understand the environment around us. Some women do not belong to the present, some are parts of today and now and some are just wanderers.

Namita Gokhale speaks to you through her characters and stories. She wants you to believe and there are times you do, only wanting more. I wished at times, that may be the stories would continue and lengthen to a novella or so, because some of them had that potential. The women in these stories are not extraordinary. They do not take life-changing decisions, or change the world. What they do instead is connect with the reader and make them see things and situations a little differently.

The stories are well laid out. From an older woman’s infatuation with a younger man to the messenger swan narrating a story of doomed lovers, Nala and Damayanti, the stories capture the essence without becoming pedantic or superficial. The profundity of the stories are revealed through what goes on in the minds of the women, the not-so-quiet lives lead and the uneasiness with which their lives go haywire sometimes and sometimes are in control.

My favourite story in the entire collection has to be the three-parts, “Grand Hotel”, where each part is unique and different, like a quilt of different patches and merging in the end. The Habit of Love is different from her earlier books, which were flippant and funny. This one is serious and makes you think a little. The woman’s heart is not laid bare and at the same time there is enough and more of a glimpse to make readers wonder. The writing strikes you in a couple of places and in some it seems a little hurried, however it is a great read for a summer afternoon.

Smut: Stories by Alan Bennett

Vivek Tejuja — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:58:00 +0000

>Title: Smut: Stories
Author: Alan Bennett
Publisher: Picador USA
ISBN: 978-1250003164
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pages: 152
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

I must admit that while I had known of Alan Bennett (and owned a copy of, “The Uncommon Reader); I hadn’t read anything by him prior to reading, “Smut”, a collection of two short stories. The stories are definitely a tease, but not smutty at all, as the title claims them to be, at least not in this time and age.

Smut consists of two stories, “The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson” and, “The Shielding of Mrs. Forbes”. Both are centered on one theme: Being smutty and being candid, or the lack of it sometimes. Smut, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes tries too hard to scandalize but it cannot, not the modern reader, who I would assume has read about these themes earlier.

The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson centers on a 55-year old widow, trying to make a living of being a “part-time demonstrator” for the medical school – in essence, playing the part of a person with an illness, so the students can correctly diagnose. At the same time she is taken in by a couple from the medical school, who are her lodgers and watches them have sex in exchange of rent. Initially I did take some time to get used to the twist the story took, however it wasn’t that embarrassing. The story however does end on a very surprising note and makes the reader think, just that little bit.

The second story, “The Shielding of Mrs. Forbes” is about an over-possessive mother, her recently married son and her henpecked husband. The story unfolds when a well-kept secret of the son, Graham is about to be exposed. Again, being gay in the story is hardly smutty. It is the way of life. Having said that, it is still Bennett’s writing that takes you by the horns and makes you read what he has written.

Alan Bennett has the verve in his writing. The candour and the beauty of words hit straight through without any intensity or depth. The simplicity of his words, take the reader to the edge and then he reveals the twist in the tale quite nonchalantly. Bennett’s writing has to be experienced. The writing is sharp and makes no bones about the fact that the British like to have sex and indulge. The decadence is at the highest level and does not beat around the bush as well. I will read more by him for sure.

Navrasa by Lotus by Rajiv Kumar

Amit Gupta — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:22:00 +0000

Author: Rajiv Kumar

Publisher: Frog Books

‘Navarasa by Lotus’ tells interlinked stories of a fading movie star; a youth accidentally taking form of a masked vigilante; a mosquito determined to fight human domination; an unmarried couple on the verge of break up; a woman who is terrified of her dream; a school kid struggling to vent his anger; Fate of our society post 2012; Rajiv’s addictions; and Anand’s redemption… The result is a collection of nine stories of different genres, each being a tribute to the rasa: humour, love, disgust, heroism, wonder, fury, horror, peace and compassion. These nine stories are interwoven with recurring characters and situations. There are surprises galore in each of the stories but it does take time to get used to that ‘recurring factor’ in each of them.

I particularly liked ‘Mutiny’ in which rebellious mosquito is determined to devise ways to combat humans. With interesting name conventions and a tight narrative, this is the best story of the lot. T20 had an interesting premise and delves with human relationships effectively though the grammatical mistakes were too high to ignore. ‘Loop’ is another intriguing story in which girl is entangled in a specific loop on a specific day at a specific point in life. ‘Redemption’ link all these stories together, and even though it is the shortest it is probably the most important story in the book. The idea of having connecting all the stories by a single link is not new, but is done intelligently enough to draw your interest.

I am going with generous (2+0.5=) 3/5 for Rajiv Kumar’s ‘Navrasa by Lotus‘. Look beyond the repetitions in certain portions of the stories and judge them at an individual level. Each of them has a good heart beating inside and deserves your attention. Read it with no expectations, and probably you will not be disappointed.

I blog at Love is always new…

>Down The Road- A Review

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:29:00 +0000

Title: Down The Road
Edited by: Ahmed Faiyaz and Rohini Kejriwal
Publisher: Grey Oak Westland
Published: 2011
Pages: 216
Price: Rs. 195
Genre: Campus Fiction- Short Stories
Rating: 3 on 5

My short sabbatical to an internet free zone was spent with my nose poking deep into the pages of Down The Road- A collection of short stories by various authors about life on campus, edited by Ahmed Faiyaz and Rohini Kejriwal. What I felt about the book shall come later, but I must share with the readers that I was often found by concerned family members sometimes sharing a ridiculously personal smile, at others a worried pensive stare with the pages of the book. It was not merely because the book was handsomely engrossing. It was certainly because the book shared stories which seemed personal.

Life on campus is a rigmarole for most of us. It, invariably, occupies a very special place in the chest where we preserve our precious memories. Growing up, finding ourselves, making friends, understanding love, learning, unlearning, failing, trying, enjoying, crying- you look back at college and you find yourself enveloped by a dozen emotions you once lived through, the ones which have played an important part in shaping you as you know yourself today. Quite obviously, I had my hoped pinned high on Down The Road, especially because I am fresh out of DU, and still not quite over the feel of campus life.

The book lived up to its name. Quite effortlessly, it took me down the memory lane. It is a fresh and pleasant collection of short stories by young authors from diverse background and with diverse writing styles. It tells simple tales of incidents we’ve lived through in school or college. Most of the stories which appealed to me dealt with love and friendship- the discovery, the innocence, the misunderstandings, the whole experience in fact. The book is divided into five sections with 28 stories by 16 authors. The individual authors have explored many different facets of campus life including elections, politics, ragging, teachers, passions, lessons, crushes, placements inter alia.A thumbs up to the editors for selection of stories included in this anthology. Some of the stories will make you smile as you remember the hazy face of that first crush, some others might touch you where you are most sensitive and feel some pain or regret. Narrated with an almost personal tenderness, many of these stories make you reflect on those trivialities which seem to acquire meaning only in retrospect.

What I did not enjoy was the last section of the book, with two essays about campus fiction and campus based movies. I was riding high on the nostalgic atmosphere which the stories created around me, and quite honestly, I did not feel like forcing myself through those passages which seemed a little dry after the wonderful and touching stories. I would give the book 3 on 5 stars. It is worth a read, in fact a few stories are worth reading many times over. Some warmth and some nostalgia you are sure to feel while you involuntarily find yourself living your college days.

My favorite five from the stories published in this anthology-

1. Smells Like Home by Aashish Mehotra
About the reluctant return to his homeland of an NRI student, who experiences comfort in the company of a girl whose presence he takes for granted.
2. Bellow Yellow by Chinmayi Bali
A commendable, mature and intense story about the darker tendencies which inhabit a student’s being. Well narrated, delicately handled.
3. The Music Room by Ira Trivedi
The forbidden love story of a bright young student and a docile, out of place music teacher.
4. The Cafe With No Name by Sneh Thakur
A gently narrated tale of the brewing relationship between a student of limited means and a concerned and doting Parsi owner of the roadside cafe. Heartwarming.
5. Remember Me? by Ahmed Faiyaz
This one because it made me revisit Ruheen and Aditya’s love story, one I had gotten quite attached to while reading Another Chance.

Reviewed by:
Saumya Kulshreshtha
@Nascent Emissions

Frosted Glass by Sabarna Roy

Amit Gupta — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:58:00 +0000

Author: Sabarna Roy

Publisher: Frog Books

Frosted Glass comprises one story cycle consisting of 14 stories and one poem cycle consisting of 21 poems. The Stories, set in Calcutta, bring to the fore the darkness lurking in the human psyche and bare the baser instincts. The stories, compactly written raise contemporary issues like man-woman relationships and its strains, moral and ethics, environmental degradation, class inequality, rapid and mass-scale unmindful urbanisation, are devoid of sentimentalization. They move around the central character who is named Rahul in all the stories. We encounter the events that shape, mar, guide Rahul’s life and also the lives of those around him, making us question the very essence of existence. Rahul symbolises modern man; he is not just one character, but all of us rolled into one.

Books like ‘Frosted Glass’ are nightmares for reviewers. There is so much good and bad about the book that it is a tough choice to make a decision. The character ‘Rahul’ is repeated in each of the story, so after reading few of them, you stop relating to him because subconsciously you are still thinking of the previous story. The author could have so easily name all the male characters with different names in the story and still come out with that common feeling of fake, half-done relationships.

There is a long list of sexual desires depicted in the book – threesomes and foursomes, making out in public places, exhibitionism in front of painters, kinky pleasure of getting raped by mutual consent, fellatio by a 12-year-old, extra-marital affairs gone wrong in bed, sexual experiments with homosexuals and so on. I am hardly straitlaced to be affected by such repressed and unconventional methods of portraying relationships but the sensation of being on a high fades away after a while when the writing gets repetitive with the sexual escapades, and to a point it becomes draining and boring.

The story cycle still stands out for dispassionate style with which betrayal in personal relationships and resultant loneliness has been handled. The best thing is that the writer does not take sides between the betrayer and the betrayal and hence, you can empathize completely with that bitchy, saucy relationships. The poems weave a maze of dreams, images, reflections and stories. They are written in a reflective and many a time in a narrative tenor within a poetic idiom. The poems are inseparable in a hidden way and are elegantally sequenced.

I am going with 2.5/5 for Sabarna Roy’s ‘Frosted Glass. It is not a bad book by any means, but with a little more restraint and non-over-indulgence, it could have been so much better. In the hand, reading it feel likes being to your favourite restaurant but being undone by their signature dish.

I blog at Love is always new…

>I Knew You’d Be Lovely by Alethea Black

Vivek Tejuja — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:02:00 +0000

>Title: I Knew You’d Be Lovely: Stories
Author: Alethea Black
Publisher: Broadway Paperbacks, Random House
ISBN: 9780307886033
Genre: Fiction, Short Stories
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

I Knew You’d Be Lovely is a beautiful collection of 13 short stories, written in a magical manner by Alethea Black. The reason I call this collection magical is that it is written from the heart and one can relate to almost all stories. The stories centre on love, communication, longing, fathers, sons, families, loss and the need to not be alone. I Knew you’d Be Lovely is a wonderful collection of short stories that one can read over and over again.

When I started reading short stories, I was very young and over a period of time I have come to realize the importance of this craft. Alethea Black does it effortlessly. The stories get you in a real tight emotional spot at times and that like I said is their beauty.

The collection starts off with, “That of which we cannot Speak” which is centered on two people who meet at a party for the first time, only to realize how important communication is or isn’t. This story is followed by, “The Only Way Out is through” which delicately explores the relationship between a father and his teenage son. “Good in a Crisis” is about a young woman and her need to find love – the search which takes her to an unexpected place. There are ten other stories in the book which are equally wondrous and make the reader think a lot about the human condition.

My personal favourite is, “Mollusk makes a Comeback” which is about a day gone wrong in the already bad phase of Katie’s life and how she hopes and wishes for a better day. I felt I could relate most to the story and what Alethea Black was trying to communicate.

I Knew You’d Be Lovely is a brilliant collection of short stories. The kind that deserves your time and attention and emotions. The kind that you read with a mug of hot chocolate and long after you have finished it, think, think about it.

Pentacles by Sabarna Roy

Amit Gupta — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:32:00 +0000

Author: Sabarna Roy

Publisher: Frog Books

Pentacles comprises one long story and four short poems. The work provides an interesting, yet intellectually stimulating, stories for the discerning reader. The long story is the best portion of this book, while the short poems even though competent just fill up the pages.

New Life is a long story written from the perspective of a successful adult whose mother had deserted the family for another man. The teenage angst and the scars it has left behind on the psyche of the protagonist are subtly reflected in the character. The different elements and characters of the story are interwoven to produce an intense and compelling story of an adult haunted by the trauma of being deserted by his mother. The work is interspersed with thought-provoking views on issues like love and socio-economic conditions in India. Even though the portions where the author provide his own version have clunky transitions with the main story and divert away your attention from the main story, the story as a whole stand tall because of a sensitive portrayal and inherent sincerity attached to it.

The traditional rhyme and metre dominated poems are on love, loss and longing. Unshackled by the bonds of rhyme and metre, author’s free verses evoke the stark reality of urban life, hitting you straight in the guts. The use of everyday urban imagery adds to the appeal of the compositions. The concrete prison of urban life and the unfulfilled desire to escape to a simple life is aptly brought out in The Tower. The free verses sketch out their life story with its attendant pathos, poignancy and logic. Even though i am not a great fan of poetry, but was able to relate to most of these poems because of the ease with which the author has written them in an almost routine conversations form.

I am going with 2.5/5 for Sabarna Roy’s ‘Pentacles’. Short, sweet and will leave you more or less satisfied with this variety of literature pieces string together. A quick night read after work is how i perceive this book.

Secrets by Ruskin Bond

Vivek Tejuja — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:50:00 +0000

>
Title: Secrets
Author: Ruskin Bond
Publisher: Penguin India
ISBN: 978-0-143-41749-1
Genre: Short Stories
Pages: 150
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

There is only one Indian living writer I know who still manages to evoke my childhood memories that either seem long time gone or buried for good. That writer is Mr. Ruskin Bond. Though his stories are primarily set in Dehradoon, everyone who reads them can successfully conjure the picturesque beauty in his or her mind and that is the power of good writing.

My stint with Mr. Bond’s works began when I was all of sixteen and it wasn’t with his most acclaimed The Room on the Roof. It was with “A Flight of Pigeons” and it is but obvious that I fell in love with it, though it is one of his more serious works. What I love about Mr. Bond’s writing is that you don’t feel that you should be of a certain age to enjoy it. So when I received a copy of “Secrets” – his latest collection of seven new short stories, I was only too eager to read and review them.

The stories have the classic Bond touch – the description of a sleepy Dehra, the usual simple characters and a touch of quaintness, which is why I love reading what he writes. The stories in this book are set in the late 40’s – a time when India had just become an independent nation and Rusty was all of thirteen. His mother was a manager at a hotel called “Greens” at Dehra and he would stay there when visiting home from school on holidays. Times were tough and it wasn’t easy to make a living – amidst these circumstances, events started unfolding in and around the hotel, which form the crux of this book in the form of wonderfully told stories.

We meet “The Skeleton in the Cupboard”, where as the title suggests a Skeleton is found in one of the rooms and the mystery around it is uncovered. “Gracie” on the other hand is a sentimental tale of a Dehra girl’s descent into something else altogether as she marries a British Army soldier and moves to London. “The Late Night Show” revolves around the murder of a man in a theatre during the late night show and of course Ruskin was present – watching the show when the murder took place.

These three stories were my favourites, hence the mention. Not to say the other four are not worth it. It is just that these three appealed more to my senses. Ruskin Bond’s stories warm the heart and sometimes take you by surprise. They take your mind to a different time – a time when life was simpler and one did not have to think so much and but of course the credit goes to the way they are written. A must read.

>Blind willow ,sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami

admin — Tue, 24 May 2011 01:05:00 +0000

My last Murakami outing was a Surreal book,After Dark .But,I loved it to bits. That prompted me to pick this book up. Blind Willow,sleeping woman is a collection of short stories ,that has gone on to garner rave reviews. There are very few books that are exhilarating and depressing at the same time. Murakami’s writing somehow manages to be both.After the first few stories,I wondered why the book was so critically acclaimed. After all, the writing didn’t seem very proficient,being loaded with superfluous similes, metaphors and dark philosophical undertones . The stories seemed to have a pattern- talk about totally unrelated things and end in a open-ended manned that made me want to tear my head out. Closure, is not something literary fiction brims with ,I guess. Every single story was left hanging in the air, as if waiting for me to figure out the ending. Several times,I wondered if the simplistic and often absurd plots had more depth to them than what I was giving credit for and that it was Murakami’s way of secretly mocking at the reader.

A few more stories into the book,I could visibly feel my pulse soaring. The strange world Murakami concocted with every single story made me want to read on.I started appreciating the point of all the pointless details he was getting into in the stories. The philosophizing and dark overtones actually started growing on me and I found myself reaching for the book in between chores. Yes,the book is deeply disturbing. Yes,sometimes the plots seemed outright absurd and innane. But, the stories brim with originality.I don’t think I have read any compilation of short stories that has the range this book has. Simply superb!. Murakami draws heavily from his love for Jazz and quite a few stories mention obscure Jazz artists and even more obscure records. Paul Gauguin finds mention a few times too.

A word of caution though-if you don’t tend to take kindly to depressing books,you might find a strange sense of gloom settling over you as you thumb through the book.The protagonists in the stories are either depressed or indulging in affairs or suicidal or sad or confused. Doesn’t entirely make for a wholesome or happy reading.But the visual imagery invoked by the stories is so potent that the words take your breath away. There is a huge degree of truth to most observations Murakami makes. I just wonder how it would have been to read the book in Japanese.Alas,I’ll never know,unless I decide to learn the language.

A full on 5/5 for this exhilarating piece of work! I know I’ve mentioned “exhilarating “a few times in this post,but that’s exactly how i felt reading the book. Go grab it !

Hyphenatedsemicolons.blogspot.com

Nothing to Declare: Stories by Rabi Thapa

Vivek Tejuja — Sun, 22 May 2011 07:09:00 +0000

>Title: Nothing to Declare: Stories
Author: Rabi Thapa
Publisher: Penguin India
ISBN: 978-0-143-41543-5
Genre: Short Stories, Fiction
PP: 172 pages
Price: Rs.199
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Nepal has had special memories for me. I practically spent every summer there since I was ten with my cousins and the entire extended family and loved it. There was nothing more special than watching rented movies (No DVD age and thank god for that!) and munching on home-cooked popcorn with mugs of hot chocolate and the anticipation of waking the next morning and visiting Pokhra or Bakthapur. We also spent freezing winters there, away from the sweltering heat of Bombay, till the time that Nepal became almost a second-home to us. My aunt is Nepalese and hence we visited Nepal a lot. This review in the sense of the word is dedicated to the country which I in all likelihood never visit again.

Nothing to Declare is a great book though. It consists of 16 short stories and each one – you guessed it right! – is set in Kathmandu or parts of the capital. When an entire book is centred around a city/country, it kind of makes the reader wonder a little about the places and can get a little confusing, however over a period of time while reading it, the reader gets used to the style and involved in the book. That is what happened to me with this one. I love short stories, however the more different one is from the other, the better. Nothing to Declare is one of those books that make you wonder after you are done reading it. Rabi Thapa’s stories are descriptive, bold and try to break the mould of what Nepal stands for – conservative, conscious and ever-judgemental society.

For instance, the title story deals with Bikram, who wants to leave the city and imigrate to London. Then there is the tale of Young foreign returned Nepalis in “Night Out in Kathmandu” and how they deal with the experience of return. They eat, sleep, share tales with the ones’ who did not leave, who did not get the opportunity to leave. The stories provide an insight to the country and what it is also going through currently – for instance, in “Home for Dashain” – the Maobadis think they can make decisions on behalf of the people, which they do and it doesn’t end too well.

At the end of it all, the book resonates in your head. The voices are lined with individuality and want to be heard. Rabi Thapa introduces you to the country like no other writer. For me it was a journey back in time. I identified the places, racked my head and heart for memories and found them all.

>Mice in Men by Anirban Basu

Amit Gupta — Sun, 22 May 2011 06:47:00 +0000

Author: Anirban Bose

Publisher: Harper Collins India

Mice in Men is a collection of 10 short stories, some of them written against the medical background. The presence of medical jargon is a little too much at times in the narrative and is quite unsettling. However, it suffers from the basic problem most anthologies face – there are only a few stories which make a mark. Rest of them are plain boring.

‘The New Job’ recounts the story of Rizwan Sheikh who has to come out of retirement to find a job so that he can manage expenses for his back operation. He contemplates giving up everything, but discovers love while witnessing an extramarital affair of his boss. Touching, but simplistic. ‘The magic of medicine’ is about a doctor who after suffering a lifetime of prejudice and humiliation is finally able to confront his own prejudices while attending to a man in the throes of a stroke. ‘Neologisms’ and ‘The Balloonwala’ are quirky, but linear screenplay makes them predictable. ‘Mice in Men’, the titular story is the second best tale in the book. Can the simple act of saving a mouse teach an insecure, ordinary man to rise above his affliction and his love? Even though quite implausible in the real life, it still provides a hefty mix of loneliness and lust.

‘Stockholm Syndrome’ is the best short story i have read this year, forget just this book. I will even stick my neck out and say, it is better than any of the short story in other anthologies of this year, Urban Shots, Turtle Dove or even Delhi Noir. Is love a neurosis that the famous psychiatrist unwillingly falls victim to? – that is the basic premise of the story. Dwindling between the past and the present, it delves into the mind of the protagonist who is trying to play with the minds of the interrogating officer, who himself has a past as he attempts to solve a murder. It is quite fascinating to read their interaction, how they literally bludgeoned each other with verbal overdose and finally how one of them wins the battle.

‘Temptation of Fate’ is an interesting take on astrology and fate, but two pages into the story and you can pretty much guess the end.‘The Right way to eat Mango’ has an interesting premise but couldn’t really live up to the expectation because there is hardly any dramatic conflict in the narrative. ‘The Faithfulness of traits’ and ‘The world’s greatest Oiban’ are just there to make up pages.

I am going with 2/5 for Anirban Basu, Mice in Men. It may be a controversial thing to say on a public platform, but the best way to enjoy this book is to go to any bookstore with a coffee shop attached…Pick the book from the shelf, order a coffee and read it… specially the stupendous story ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. It will save the agony of going through other below par stories. I have read more entertaining anthologies this year, this one doesn’t quite match up to those standards. A let down for me after the author’s competent debut novel, Bombay Rains, Bombay Girls

I blog at Love is always new….

>Down the Road- Grey Oak Publishers

admin — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 04:33:00 +0000

The first thing I did after finishing ‘Urban shots’ by Grey Oak was to order their next anthology ‘Down the Road’. It is a collection of school/college centric stories designed to evoke déjà vu in the youngsters and nostalgia in the not so young. (I prefer calling myself young at heart, slightly older in other places, but that is beside the point)

The book is packaged cleverly and has been promoted smartly. But is it as good as Urban Shots? Not exactly, but still worth a read. The stories vary in content and quality. Some of them are extremely good. Sororicide by Paritosh Uttam ( I am fast turning into a fan, Paritosh) unleashes powerful and moving emotions; The music room by Ira Trivedi packs a punch; Dimples and cute smiles ( Ranjani Iyer), Well placed ( Ahmed Faiyaz) and the The worm that turned ( Malathi Jaikumar) invoke humor without trying too hard; Just a moment (Nikhil Rajagopalan) ,Learning and unlearning ( Rohini Kejriwal) and Strangers in strange places( Abhijit Bhaduri) succeed in unlocking a strong sense of nostalgia; while Loves me, loves me not ( Vibhi Batra) is plain chilling. The rest of the stories run the entire gamut from good to indifferent/juvenile, but there is enough punch to keep the reader occupied. But I don’t understand why Between friends ( Paritosh Uttam) was repeated. It was featured in Urban Shots just a few months back.The pick of the authors? Kunal Dhabalia for An accidental start.

I think Grey Oak is doing a yeoman’s service to the cause of English writing in India by leading a revival of the short story and this book is recommended for all lovers of short stories.

My rating 3/5.

Feluda: Gorosthane Sabdhan! (Beware in the Graveyard!) by Satyajit Ray

Roshmi — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 19:40:00 +0000

Author’s note: To read ‘The Complete Adventures of Feluda (Vol I) by Satyajit Ray‘ please click here.

A disturbed grave in a centuries-old cemetery, a ciphered message and a mysterious ‘repeater’… On a visit to the Park Street cemetery (founded in 1767) in Calcutta, Feluda and his friends chance upon an old grave that has been dug into. Slight clues lead them into the heart of a mystery that is both complex and fascinating. When the jigsaw that involves Marquis Godwin’s dilapidated flat in a scary and gloomy old building on Ripon Street, a séance, a singer in a restaurant, a ruthless rich collector and a midnight vigil at the graveyard is put together, what emerges is one of the most intriguing mysteries Feluda has ever been faced with.

This is also the latest Feluda film to hit the marquee, and walks you through some glorious history of Calcutta (including showcasing the city’s oldest photographic studio – Bourne & Shepherd, Gorosthan [the Park Street cemetery that has around 2000 graves but has not had a single burial for many years], the mausoleum of Job Charnock, traditionally regarded as the founder of the city of Calcutta, the tombs of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, the fiery Anglo-Indian teacher, poet, a radical thinker and freedom fighter who lived a rather short but a memorable life and played a major role in ushering modern ideology among the young generation of Calcutta; William Jones, founder of the Asiatic Society, John Hyde, a judge famous for his papers and Rose Aylmer who inspired the poem of the same name by Walter Savage Landor and other heritage venues of Calcutta – not Kolkata mind you). It also introduces you to the ‘Perigal Repeater’.

Sabyasachi Chakraborty once again essays the role of Feluda admirably – sophisticated, intelligent, sharp and mildly yet fashionably arrogant… in his own way. Bibhu Bhattacharya is back as Lalmohan Ganguly aka Jatayu. While chocolate-faced actor Saheb Bhattacharjee is Topshe (previously played by Siddhartha Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee and Parambrata Chatterjee). Yes, all three Topshes were Chatterjees until Saheb arrived! While another Feluda series fixture veteran actor Haradhan Bandopadhyay is seen as ‘Sidhu Jyatha’. The first Topshe who partnered Soumitra Chatterjee was Siddhartha Chatterjee – now a financial analyst in his own right. The next Topshe were Saswata Chatterjee and Parambrato Chatterjee. When Parambrato grew out of the character, director Sandip Ray’s choice was the young and fresh-faced Shaheb Bhattacharjee… and he has done a great job.

The sparkling cameos performed by some of the best veteran actors boost up the ratings of the acting cast… with top marks going to Tinnu Anand as Godwin’s gone-to-seed great-great-great grandson Marquis Godwin who, like his ancestor, has gambled away everything but a beautiful ivory casket that holds the secret to Thomas Godwin’s grave. Pradip Mukherjee as Naren Biswas is subtle in his understatement of an important role, underwritten by feelings of failure and guilt. Subhashish Mukherjee as Girin Biswas, his younger brother, has a layered role and performs it to perfection. This actor who is usually seen in comic roles has packed an impressive performance that underlines his versatility and indicates his range as an actor. Dhritiman Chatterjee as Mahadeb Choudhury is theatrical and flamboyant but that is just what the character demands – showy, conceited, slighting of others and cold.

Satyajit Ray wrote this Feluda story in 1977. Sandip has relocated it by flashing it forward to 2010 and making the slightly necessary changes to the script… to fit it into the present time frame. The city has completely changed in the last 40 odd years. So a large number of descriptions from the book had to be suitably changed in the film. Thus, Blue Fox, the landmark restaurant, had to be replaced with another equally old restaurant on Park Street and the signature Ambassadors and Fiats on the city’s streets have been replaced with modern cars.

The camera wanders around Kolkata. One discovers that the city of Kolkata with warts and all has evolved into a significant character in the film. Despite the time leap from story to film, the flavour of an old Kolkata comes back like an old gramophone record forgotten in some old shelf. But this Calcutta-Kolkata incorporates a sophisticated hospital, modern gizmos, a band playing at Trincas the old restaurant on Park Street that is still around, an Internet café Feluda steps into to Google-search some info, Seagull Bookstore in the southern parts of Kolkata, lunch hogged in a hurry at Chung Wah, a once-famous Chinese restaurant in central Calcutta, ending along the banks at Raichak, a new addition, and so on. All this is wonderfully portrayed with bytes of information flowing in naturally through Feluda’s encyclopedic knowledge. The magic cinematography is never in a hurry to reach a destination before it needs to… just as the editing decides to call it quits when it should.

‘Gorosthaney Shabdhan!’ has an extremely impressive and original opening on the original Park Street graveyard. The credits are engraved on the gravestones, the camera panning slowly to catch them in circles. The sound design is fantastic in all the night scenes in the graveyard – eerie sounds of bats, dogs, owls and frogs dotting the silence, or, muffled sounds of someone being pulled and hit, or, the planchette table tapping above that shakes Marquis Godwin’s ceiling and last but never the least, all the 250 clocks chiming together on the dot of six when Feluda, Topshe and Lalmohan Babu come to meet Mahadeb Choudhury in his opulent apartment (with its red-carpeted staircase) for the first time. Sandip Ray’s Gorosthane Sabdhan! informs, educates and entertains without dragging its feet over its almost lyrical closure. It blends some thrills, a bit of suspense and doses of action and adventure to take the audience on an entertaining trip through the city of Kolkata.

Thanks are due to Sandip Ray for bringing this magnificent story to life. Read the story – in Bengali or English and grab the DVD.

The film has been a huge success prompting the director – Sandip Ray – to announce plans to work on two more Feluda films in the coming years, namely, ‘The Royal Bengal Rahashya’ (‘The Royal Bengal Mystery’) and ‘Joto Kando Kathmandutey’ (‘The Criminals of Kathmandu’/ a novella, 1980). The days of suspense will be back soon.

Feluda is said to be a cross between Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Hergé’s Tintin and George Lucas’ Indiana Jones… and the films have been popular too. The global popularity of the sleuth is also enviable, as Feluda stories have been published in full in English and in part in many other major international languages (French and Spanish included). The charm of Ray’s Feluda stories lie, among other things, in their skillful mix of mystery and humour. It is good that his works are being translated into other languages – especially English. It’ll help bring on a larger readership. I think they have been translated into Marathi and Hindi too.

The original Feluda – Soumitra Chatterjee – was ageing while the mid-1980s saw the demise of the hugely talented Santosh Dutta (the original Jatayu) due to cancer. The latter prompted Ray to decide never to film a Feluda story again, although he went on writing them at a phenomenal rate till the end of his days.

Ray felt Santosh Dutta was irreplaceable as Jatayu. However, Ray Jr. looked at it differently… and felt one has to move on and that the show must go on.

Satyajit Ray had decided, and Sandip Ray agreed, that a big-screen film could not be made in a ‘whodunnit’ format, as it reduces the chances of repeat view while some spoilsport can kill the story/film and the thrills by disclosing the identity of the criminal. On the other hand, it is a good idea to follow the ‘whodunnit’ format on television, as there is less chance of repeat viewing. As we see in ‘Sonar Kella’ (‘The Golden Fortress’/ a novella, 1970/ filmed: 1974) and ‘Joi Baba Felunath’ (‘The Mystery of the Elephant God’/ a novella, 1975/ filmed: 1979), the thriller format had been adopted in filming, although ‘Sonar Kella’ was written in a ‘whodunnit’ format like other Feluda stories. However, for all the other films, which were made for the TV, the ‘whodunnit’ format was retained.

The Feluda stories continue to waft their magic fragrance through the books/novels and films – over 45 years after they were first written – and literally whet our appetite, the way the bitter starter is meant to do in Bengal. Feluda was and remains fatafati!

The Official trailer of Gorosthane Sabdhan! HERE.

Photograph: Poster of the film ‘Gorosthaney Shabdhan!’ aka ‘Beware in the Graveyard!’ Pic. courtesy: Link.

Reviewed by: Roshmi Sinha. This post is the edited version. The original can be read at: Musings of an Unknown Indian.

>Urban Shots edited by Paritosh Uttam

Amit Gupta — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 06:49:00 +0000

Editor: Paritosh Uttam

Publisher: Grey Oak India

Urban Shots is an anthology of 28 short stories written by 13 writers which talk about different aspects of urban life varying from relationships, love, friendship, angst and longing.

Part 1 – Relationships

(1) “Hope comes in small packages” by Kainaz Motivala of Ragini MMS fame takes an unexpected route to fight depression in marital life and recounts the coming back of care and affection between the couple. (2) “The right thing to do” by Paritosh Uttam (PU) is a short, punchy, no-nonsense story about the justice and equality, sophisticatedly written. (3) “Liberation” by Malathi Jaikumar (MJ) is one of my favourite in the book. It deals with the issue of marital abuse in a non-preachy, humorous way and ironically shows how religious bigotry can sometimes be not such a bad thing to have in your hands. (4) “Notes of Discord”by PU left me a little underwhelmed because even though i don’t have a moral right to pass judgement on how to resolve conflicts in marriage, this one reeked of retribution with your better half even though it is of a milder form. (5) “It’s a small world” by Ahmed Faiyaz (AF) is a loud, action-packed story but with lot of OTT sensibilities. Things were deliberately allowed to go out of hand, seems each of them wanted to pick a fight for one reason or another.(6) “Replay” by PU is a cute, little story portraying slice of Mumbai life, very relatable and equally poignant. (7) “The biggest problem” by PU is about the vicissitudes of life seen from the point of view of an old man living in a small apartment with little facilities at disposal. Very detailed, humorous and told with lot of panache and craft.

Part 2 – Love

(1) “Morning showers” by Bishwanath Ghosh (BG) is a slow, sensual story about post-coital moments between two married people (not to each other) who finally realise the uncomfortable psyche and their failed attempts at owning up to their actions. (2) “Heartbreakers” by PU is about ‘setting up’ of two people on a trekking trip by a group of friends. Short, but entertaining and engrossing. (3) “Love…in a fast lane” by AF is an almost perfect way to show how the relationships have devalued in the younger generation without feeling any guilt or inhibitions. (4) “Serendipity” by PU is the best story in the book, about meeting (or not!) of two people with a backdrop of ‘Crime and Punishment’, a novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. (5) “Slow Rain” by Abha Iyengar recounts the tale of a married, bored-to-death housewife who is going through an inner conflict while pondering to attempt an extra-marital affair with a bookshop owner. Extremely engrossing.

Part 3 – Friendship

(1) “Apple Pies and a Grey Sweater” by Prateek Gupta, best story in this section, is about unspoken love between two people who still has lot to offer to each other emotionally, even after being together long enough. (2) “Love-all” by Kunal Dhabalia (KD) is straight out of Karan Johar school of scripting where Dosti hi asli pyaar hain and all that jazz. (3) “Moving on” by AF in its spirit is Dil to Pagal hain - Part 2, period. (4) “The Untouched Guitar” bySahil khan is a standard college tale of I-loved-when-college-started-i-realised-when-college-is-ending types, you got the drift naa, cool. (5) “Between Friends” by PU, though not in the same league as his other stories in the book, still provide a moment or two of content and fun.

Part 4 – Angst

(1) “Just average” by MJ is a story of a women who has lead an ordinary life, only realising her inner strength when she finally stand up for a wrong doing in front of her. (2) “Stick figures” by Vrinda Baliga (VB) is a sweet little tale of dealing with child and their eccentricities, thereby learning from it. (3) “A cup of Tea” by PU portrays typical gender stereotypes of Indian men and women in their every day lives, though still sticking by to preserve the institution of marriage. (4) “The enlightened one” by Hasmita Chander is a dark, yet endearing portray of dealing with deep ridden guilt and trauma. It has a surreal, spiritualistic feel to it. (5) “Dialects of silence” by VB is the best tale in this section. It tells about the hardships faced by the parents in their love life and is told from the eyes of their child.(6) “The house in Ali Bagh” by Rikkim Khamar is arguably the weakest tale in the book. It tries to be too mystic, too philosophical and too cool all at the same time, ultimately making mess of a decent story.

Part 5 – Longing

(1) “Women in love” by BG can be described in two simple lines – Women in love can talk, talk and talk & no men can ever comprehend those talks. (2) “Effacing memories” by PUturns out to be too simplistic and the emotions are mostly contrived, the weakest story by the writer in this edition. (3) “Trial And error” by Naman Saraiya is best described by the quote at the end of the tale – Love and sex are the two things that make people hang up. (4) “Driving Down the memory lane” by KD is about a couple on a bike trip in one night and the possibilities they explored in their mind about each other. It left me asking for more and with due respect to PU, i think this has been mercilessly edited and could have been a real impact story. (5) “A Mood for love” by PU is a standard Bollywood triangular love story of 2 heroines and 1 hero, period.

I feel the best way to enjoy the book is to read each part in one sitting, arguably enhancing the experience of these short stories. If you try and read the book in one go, the stories towards the end may give you a feeling of emotional repetitiveness. Also, i don’t know whether it finally came down to a production/financial issue to limit the number of pages, but the font-size of the book definitely needs to be one point up. The long portions without paragraph break in certain stories may be claustrophobic for some readers, as was the case with me at times. I am going with 3.5/5 for this anthology, Urban Shots. This book definitely deserves a shot!

I blog at Love is always new…

>Cocktail- short stories by Vikram Karve

admin — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:39:00 +0000

First and foremost, three cheers for APK Publishers for publishing a book of short stories. Almost everybody in the publishing industry (from publishers to agents to writers) assure me that short stories do not sell unless from a celebrity pen and are therefore unpublishable. It is heartening to see that Prashant Karhade of APK does not subscribe to this philosophy.

Now coming to Vikram Karve, a familiar name to those who have been following his blogs on Sulekha.com, this is his first collection of short stories. He writes about today’s urban lifestyle, about love (and lack of it), life, relationships, desires (both fulfilled and unfulfilled), yearning and boredom. His characters are real life and well etched. The twenty seven stories traverse familiar ground, invoking in the reader feelings as diverse as joy, pathos and at times amusement. But there is a problem. After a while, the emotions get repetitive. Most of the heroes are bearded, he-man, master mariner types; the women are sexy and attractive (usually dressed in tight fitting pink t-shirts tucked into hip hugging jeans) and certain phrases( Drying a divorcee’s tears is one of the most dangerous pastimes known to a man) and situations appear multiple times. That does not mean that the book is not an enjoyable read. I loved some of the stories. Lovedale touched my heart, Parting Gift is both sad and funny, Rendezvous at sunrise is different, A lazy hot afternoon in Mumbai is exquisite, Deccan Queen ingenious, Freedom is honest and Chilled beer is well, chilling. Some stories do not work that well (Every dog has his day is corny, Electrophoresis is plain silly) but none of them can be called bad.

Karve writes well and did surprise me with a few words I had not heard /read before (must get myself a good dictionary, the one in Microsoft Word has serious limitations). Overall, a good attempt and a must read for short story buffs. (My rating 3/5)

To buy the book online, please click here.

Ruskin Bond’s Book of Nature.

Roshmi — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:26:00 +0000

This one came along with the delightful ‘Book of Humour‘. Well, almost. They were separated by just 4 days. Which does not make them twins… even fraternal ones at that… but so what, both make for a very good read!

I finished reading this book a while back… and I wonder how Ruskin Bond manages to weave such simple, joyous tales all the time. Refreshing, fragrant with the smell of nature, and a charm that makes you want to read them again and again. They never let your interest drift or your mind to wander. This one is yet another gem from his treasure-trove. When you relax in your small verandah or on a garden seat, take this book with you and open it at any page. You will be well rewarded.

Having grown up in the hills, in the lap of nature… in once idyllic Mussourie, Kasauli, Shimla, Dehradun and Jamnagar… no one understands nature like Ruskin Bond and it takes his ability to put this wonder into words. He is indeed nature’s favourite child. He has celebrated the wonder and beauty of nature as few other contemporary writers have, or indeed can… for over fifty years and counting. Apparently he has yet to lose faith in Indians. In 2009, a report was published which stated that he was seen going down to the Mall in the evenings and stopping drivers, pleading with them not to honk so much. Bond was 75 then. You have to be made of something special to be that age and yet optimistic about changing Indians. It is an indication of his love for the hills and for nature and speaks volumes of the incorrigible optimist that he is. He is a believer in universal culture. Only someone like him can weave such tales, given the serenity and lyricism of his prose. No one else can. For sure!

In these pages, he writes of leopards padding down the lanes of Mussoorie after dark, the first shower of the monsoon in Meerut that brings with it a tumult of new life, the chorus of insects at twilight outside his window, ancient banyan trees and the short-lived cosmos flower, a bat who strays into his room and makes a night less lonely. He captivates with his collection of nature pieces… not just from the Himalayan foothills that he has made his home, but also from the cities and small towns that he lived in or traveled through as a young man. And he is young at heart. Always. Forever. No wonder he has few equals. He shares a deep camaraderie with nature and his stories flow smoothly like a sparkling brook… no dramatic flourishes, no villains, ugly fights, in them. There is warmth and plenty of it and the simple pleasures of life… which make them so very endearing.

He is a painter of words. Bond uses his pen as a brush to paint captivating images of his observations on and his experiences with nature and beckons his readers into his imagination… like the sweet fragrance of a flower in full bloom during spring. A book that relaxes the eyes, rests the mind, lulls the noise and lets one drift into the idyllic life with nature that most of us are unable to lead… thanks to incessant ‘development’ made in the name of ‘progress’. The ‘Book of Nature’ is liberally sprinkled with gentle humour and gives you the feeling… that you are having a one-on-one conversation with the narrator himself over a cup of freshly brewed filter coffee. Or even a cup of masala chai. It is very, very soothing… almost like a lullaby on a hot summer afternoon. While the fragrance of his words… lingers on and on and on.

Some snippets about Bond: Come every Saturday, the portly figure of Ruskin Bond can be seen at the Cambridge Book Store sipping hot tea and obliging autograph hunters. Opened in 1952, just two years after Bond finished his schooling, he fondly savours the nostalgia of this place.

“I still remember buying Agatha Christie’s ‘Death on the Nile’ in 1965 for Rs. 3 from this store,” says the creative writer strolling down memory lane, while having a cup of tea. Thanks to Bond’s voracious appetite for words in black and white, the store has remained in business. “Bond is a loyal patron of our book shop and his presence provides readers a chance to interact with him,” states 85-year-old LD Arora, the owner of the shop. Unfazed by tourists and their accompanying children, who keep pestering him for autographs, he revels in showing his funny side to all the visitors.

“His mere two hours presence at the shop sells about 50-100 books every Saturday,” discloses Sunil Arora, the owner’s son and a personal friend of Bond.

When Jalandhar’s Vandana and Delhi’s Shelly Jain hurriedly purchased Bond’s books to get them signed, an avid soccer lover opted for his autograph on a Ronaldo picture. “I am also a Ronaldo fan,” reveals the storyteller later, while trying to catch soap bubbles blown by playful children in the shop. Clad in a red jumper, the ageing writer still retains his loyal readers, who seem to keep increasing by the day.

“He has an elephant’s memory,” recalls a lady from Delhi, who had last met Bond 21 years ago during a visit to the hill town as a student of St Thomas’ School and now seen getting a couple of Bond’s books autographed for her children. Funnily, when the poor weather dampened Arora’s business, it was a good time for writers, points out Bond giving slight heartburn to his friend. But how would he walk up to his Landour home without an umbrella?

Ergo, went the shop assistant and came with a bunch of colourful umbrellas. And Bond selected the obvious – the blue umbrella. Was that meant for Biniya – the 11 year old girl and the protagonist of his famous story ‘The Blue Umbrella’? Well, nobody knows. (But as it turned out later, Bond’s beloved Blue Umbrella had a gaping hole and had to be replaced).

In 2007, Bond’s short story ‘The Blue Umbrella‘ was made into a film… directed by Vishal Bharadwaj (of ‘Kaminey’ fame). It had a great lyrical feel and very good cinematography. As far as acting is concerned, Pankaj Kapoor, because of his tremendous histrionic skills, completely dominated the film.

Vishal liked another of his four-page short story, ‘Susanna’s Seven Husbands’. Bond expanded it into a 200-page piece, which could be filmed. The movie was titled ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’… and the cast included Priyanka Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah, John Abraham, Irrfan Khan, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Anu Kapoor and Vivaan Shah. Bond’s protagonist was a femme fatale who bumps off her seven husbands. He had to find ingenious ways of bumping seven people off while writing the story. According to Bond… that’s something he cannot generally contemplate. Interestingly, during production, the film underwent two name changes. The project was initially titled ‘Seven’, which was then replaced by ‘Ek Batta Saat’ and finally ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’.

It seems that the eminent author from Mussoorie is now enjoying his newfound love of acting in films nowadays. He shot a video, along with the noted Uttarakhandi singer Meena Rana recently. Ruskin Bond, speaking to The Tribune, said earlier he used to feel uncomfortable acting, but after his stint in ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’ directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, he is now getting used to the arc lights and the glamour world. However, his first love remains writing books, especially for children.

His novella ‘A Flight of Pigeons‘, a story set in Shahjahanpur during the revolt of 1857 was made into ‘Junoon‘ (1978)… starring Shashi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Nafisa Ali, Ismat Chughtai, Tom Alter, Deepti Naval, Jennifer Kendal, Pearl Padamsee, among others… and directed by Shyam Benegal. According to Bond… it was true to the story, only the ending was changed slightly. It was a good film, probably a bit too opulent. The acting, particularly Naseeruddin Shah’s, was excellent.

Ruskin Bond has his modest home miles from the madding crowds in picture-postcard pretty Landour, a quaint little ‘town’ above Mussoorie. His tiny living room is filled with books, pictures and ‘trophies’. The writer’s familiar chubby face is now framed by hair that was ‘more-salt-less-pepper’ and combed neatly, like a schoolboy’s. His eyes are sparkling blue, his complexion a healthy pink, and his smile ever so engaging. While his voice is deep and resonant. Bond has written in almost every genre – short story, novel, poem, travelogue, essay etc… and counts essays and short stories as his favourite forms. Prolific and popular, witty and wise, charming and cherubic, Ruskin Bond commands adulation across regions, age groups and gender. Here is a writer who has defied genres, challenged conventions and remained enduring and endearing down the years… and he believes that in order to become a good writer one has to be confident and perseverant. He says, “At times, when the chips are down and you are disappointed, you have to stick to this. I have seen young people who entered this field, but quit after some time and joined other creative streams like advertising or journalism. I stick to writing, since I had no other alternative.”

Ruskin Bond Profile: Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author of British descent. He is considered to be one of the icons among Indian writers and children’s authors and a top novelist.

In 1992, he received the Sahitya Akademi award for English writing, for his short stories collection, Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra, by the Sahitya Akademi (India’s National Academy of Letters). He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 for contributions to children’s literature. He now lives with his adopted family in Mussoorie.

Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh). His father was Aubrey Alexander Bond who served in the RAF during World War II. He had one sister and brother – Ellen and William Bond. When the writer was 4, his mother separated from his father and married a Punjabi-Hindu Mr Hari who himself was married once. At the age of 10, Ruskin went to his grandmother’s place in Dehradun. He has been living in Landour since the 1960s, and has previously stayed at Shimla, Jamnagar, Mussoorie, Dehradun, and London.

Details of Book: Ruskin Bond’s Book Of Nature/ Author: Royina Grewal/ Pages: 312/ ISBN: 0143064231/ ISBN-13: 9780143064237, 978-0143064237/ Publishing Date: 06/01/2008/ Publisher: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd./ Price: Rs. 299/- (paperback).

Photograph: Pic courtesy: link.

Reviewed by: Roshmi Sinha (cross posted from here).

Turtle Dove by Divya Dubey

Amit Gupta — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:45:00 +0000

Publisher: Gyaana Books

The six short stories in Turtle Dove are about ordinary and, sometimes, not-so-ordinary people. Though based in and around Delhi, these stories are really about people anywhere, any-when; about people like you and I, and the eccentric world we live in.

For the second consecutive time this year, i have been pleasantly surprised by a collection of short stories. After reading and reviewing Delhi Noir, i thought it was difficult to cross that standard. But i guess i just underestimated the literary talent floating around in the Indian book market. So, while in ‘Delhi Noir’, the trials and tribulations evolve from the external circumstances, in ‘Turtle Dove’ the complications and catharsis come mainly from within the individuals. The best part is that the book never insults your intelligence, there is no spoon- feeding here and you are required to read between the lines, understand the subtle nuances at times on your own. A wonderful feeling for me, at least!!

“Best friend” displays a dilemma we must have faced in our lives at some point of time – should you keep up with a friend even when he/she is good for nothing. So, here Shailaja is patient and provides all the emotional support she can, but Sonali can never stick to one decision and always uses her as a punching bag for the endless rants and mindless ruminations. The narrative is assured and even though rapid moves between past and present is a little unsettling in the beginning, it settles down admirably after that. The author has an eye for detail, however the long descriptive portions with excessive use of adjectives can be frustrating for few people.

“Arnab” is etched with so much sincerity that my heart went out to the central character while reading this story. It is a flesh and blood character dealing with effeminate emotions that seeks no validation, but commands so much adulation by the silence it portrays. The family pressures leads him to a path of self destruction and then causes a string of tragic events in the people around him, specially for his mother who has always longed for a daughter. The story strongly indicates gender stereotypes in our Indian society and its effects on the psyche of an individual.

The title story “Turtle Dove” is definitely the best tale in the book. The concept of incest is dealt in a dark, engrossing manner that is ironical and hard hitting at the same time. It is an amazing story of union and separation within the boundaries of family relationships, very bold and provocative yet sincere and endearing. The erotic portions come as a breath of fresh air in these times where subtlety is quietly vanishing in books while narrating such scenes. The symbiotic relationships each of the characters share have undertones of love, lust and most importantly, to create destruction in each other lives.

“Naani” portrays generation gap in bold and brave strokes, yet the colour of the story ranges from depressing and dark, with shades of bright and beautiful world interspersed cleverly. It is engaging and provides a very credible style of narrative, as the scenes are lifted straight from the Indian households. There is lot of panache and craft in this storytelling, so even though there is a possibility that the character come out to be caricatures, the author has stood his ground because she knows exactly where to draw the lines. It also highlights the scheming ways women can undertake to thrust their superiority, ironically towards women in their own household.

“Barkha Rani” is poignant, bizarre and ugly, all in the good form of the word. It portrays a journey of an ordinary domestic maid who is bounded by traditional and old-fashioned way of living, but still manages to surprise when it comes to the harassment dealt to her own daughter-in-law. I just wished a little more detail could have been given to the emotional turbulence she undergoes before taking THAT big decision. Ultimately, it talks about women emancipation in a broader sense but not investing enough in the metamorphosis the character should be subjected to. But it does manage to capture the Indian psyche beautifully within the different stratas of society.

“The science wizard” portrays emotions of a child prodigy who gets himself entwined in the bad world of crime and drugs. It deals with his rise, more rise, fall and more fall with the practicalities of the world and brings about an important issue of peer pressure, right from the school days. Even though it is dealt with deft sensitiveness, the story loses its grip in the portions when the action shifts towards his friends and does not remain focussed on the central protagonist. Written in almost a journal kind of style, it leaves you with an open ending which forces you to think about the vagaries of a regular life.

So that’s 4/5 for Divya Dubey self-published anthology, Turtle Dove. The first four stories are engrossing and enjoyable, last two left me a little underwhelmed. But i still make a strong recommendation to read this one. The cornerstone of her writing lies in evoking emotional responses through her characters. Most of the time it is not pleasant, but then the magic of reading always lies in exploring the unexplored. A commendable effort from the first time author, someone to look out in the future for sure!!

I blog at Love is always new…

In Their Shoes – Dipen Ambalia

Sneha Sharma — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 11:32:00 +0000

Book: In Their Shoes

Publisher: APK Publishers
Author: Dipen Ambalia
ISBN-10: 81-907372-4-4
ISBN-13: 978-81-910918-4-1
Binding: Paperback
Size: 5.5″ x 8.5″
Number of pages: 166
Language: English
Publishing Date: April 2010
Edition: First

Every face has a story. The person riding the bicycle, the kid with the runny nose, the woman bargaining with the vendor or the man standing at the bus stop, every one is a part of a story. Story of their dreams, emotions, situations. Story of their lives.

With “In Their Shoes” Dipen Ambalia has tried to step in the shoes of 17 different people, see the world through their eyes, feel their emotions and spin the dreams of their desires. The book has given voice to 17 ordinary but diverse characters.

It starts with Bindiya, A Drummer’s daughter. She introduces you to her family and a day in her life. They are poor and have no luxuries but the girl in her childlike enthusiasm sees her world in very different manner. She is not sorry for her family and is proud to be her daddy’s girl. Moving ahead, Vidya takes over the reins. A 24 year mentally challenged girl befriends you. Vidya’s world revolves around her parents, her teacher, her best friend and her dog. She shares her dreams and her interests, giving you an insight of her simple mind.

In contrast to happy and content Vidya, the author introduces you to Rajeev. Rajeev is nursing his broken heart. He is just jilted by his crush and is badly hurt. With him, you learn his unfortunate first love story and life’s lesson that he learns from depression. Going on the next story, we meet a Phobic. Life is unpredictable and worth every moment but that seems to be a scary thought to a phobic, a chronic phobic to be precise. The list of his phobias is never ending and so is Vineet’s list of pranks. Naughty and bold eight standard young adult has strong views about school, books, education- In short everything that his world revolves around. Moving ahead, from brash naughty kid you com are asked to wait and watch the nature’s offerings and introduced to life’s lessons by Jeevansukh baba. Next in the line is a struggling writer who is a self-made man. Despite of all the odds, he manages realize his dream. Even today, being a writer is looked down upon as a profession but he fights against the stigma and emerges victorious.

In the next story you come across the Gatekeeper of an Old age home, he takes you on a tour of his past and urges you, not to take your elders for granted for they are the ones who have made you who you are. Talking about taking things for granted, a regular traveler of Mumbai locals will tell you that in Mumbai, you cannot take time, small pleasures and local trains for granted; for Mumbai’s lifelines – local trains rule your life. They are not just a means of commute but also a meeting point, second home, socializing joint etc. This is what is the next story is about. It is about a day in the life of a regular Mumbai Local train commuter. This is followed by interaction with a 77-year-old man living in a 140-sq.ft hut. It is about how he landed up at his present situation from an ordinary mansion at his native place, how ungrateful close ones were to him and how accepting life the way it is right now.

Hope can take over all logic or should I say sense and logic do not go hand in hand? The next story deals with this idea. Here, a tantrik tells us about how he dupes people and how easy it is to make a fool of even the most educated and practical beings! However, he is nothing in front of a corrupt politician who is next in line. The politician is aware what is wrong and how can he get the right things done but he is too busy is giving back to those who were not fair with him. He can change the face of the nation but he is more interested in taking care of his next generations.

Next, we move on to a media reporter who gives you first hand tips in being a good, sensational media reporter followed by the unfortunate but extraordinary story of a visually challenged person. In this world, when there are 10 people to de motivate you there are also some angels that take care of you. Even then one should remember that he/she is his/his biggest support! An Engineering student giving you a glimpse of his life follows this. He also provides a set of tips that would help you to tackle viva and he swears by these tips.

The penultimate story is day in life of a software engineer, his frustrations, his expectations and the generous guy that he is, he also shares a list of tried and tested formulae that will help fellow software engineers to stick to their jobs and avoid their bosses. The book ends with Shabbo’s story. Shabbo is a prostitute cum bar dancer.

The characters have no connection with each other nor are they related and this brings in variety of thought. They are ordinary, everyday faces. The simple fact that the author has tried to voice their lives makes the book an average read. There is variety in content but the central theme is same – fight against odds and enjoy life.

Dipen has done a satisfactory job with the book. The writing style is technically average. It follows the same style that most India writers use. Hinglish dialogues, exaggeration of words, use of upper case, bold fonts hinder the flow of the stories. The writer is very clear about what he wants to convey but somehow the message gets monotonous after the first four stories. The book gives you a general idea about the seventeen characters. A little more depth in emotions would have elevated the level. The book is good in parts; the author has done a good job with Vidya and Bindiya. These two stories stand apart from the rest. Overall, pick up the book if you are looking out for a light general read.

Rating : 3/10